With much excitement and anticipation, athletes returned to Covenant this spring semester with the promise of competition at last. Due to COVID-19, fall sports seasons were postponed until this semester. While the opportunity to play again brings much joy to athletes, coaches and fans, there are now a total of 14 teams trying to practice in Covenant College’s facilities.
As a smaller Division 3 school, this is a challenge to say the least. The dedicated coaches are juggling a lot of logistics, including when to book the weight rooms, who gets to use which court and when, and keeping their athletes in good physical condition to avoid injuries.
One department in particular is being pushed to the limits: the athletic trainers office. The team is composed primarily of three experienced and caring trainers: Ryan Clark, Lydia McGee, and Meredith Zinke. They are also assisted by trainers in training and Phil Pennington, athletic training assistant, whose job is to ensure that the training room runs as smoothly as possible.
Before most spring seasons started up again, Ryan Clark sent out an email about what the training room would look like this semester with COVID-19 restrictions. He highlighted that it was vital for the student athletes to be more diligent than ever about taking care of themselves in injury prevention and strengthening. In order to be able to manage all the athletes and their needs, athletes need to be proactive about taking care of their bodies and not injuring themselves through overuse or ignoring injuries.
As a department, the athletic trainers office goal this semester is to serve all the sports teams effectively and efficiently, while still maintaining the good personal contact required in the health profession.
When asked why she decided to become an athletic trainer in the first place, McGee said that, “being an athletic trainer provides the opportunity to have an impact on college kids’ lives.” An athletic trainer’s role is not merely to help protect and heal the bodies of athletes, but also to walk with them through the highs and lows, both through the joys of the sport they play and through the frustrations each athlete faces as an individual and as part of a team.
With all the teams the athletic trainers have to manage this season, providing effective and timely care has proved difficult as they are stretched thin as a team. There are even occasions in the future when Covenant will be required to hire outside help in order to cover all the athletic events it will host.
COVID-19 has added even more onto the trainers’ full plates. Athletes will need to be tested and the paperwork and management required for this responsibility have fallen onto the shoulders of the trainers and coaches. Trying to keep the training room and sports seasons running smoothly has been and will continue to be a challenge, but the trainers are really excited for the athletes and grateful for all their cooperation in everything.
“It only takes a few to shut it down. Things have been able to continue so far for Covenant athletes because they are doing their part and being smart,” said Clark.
When asked about the upside among all the difficulties that COVID-19 has brought, all three trainers expressed their thankfulness to be working among Covenant athletes. The environment of the training room and the relationships between the trainers and athletes are great and, according to the trainers, that is not always the case.